LAS VEGAS — Three months after Nico Iamaleava left Tennessee for UCLA and shook the college football world amidst essentially the most vital contract dispute within the NIL period, the star quarterback lastly broke his silence.
You simply won’t have been capable of hear the soft-spoken quarterback Thursday when he stepped on stage close to the tip of Large Ten Media Days. The principle attraction through the ultimate hours of the three-day media occasion spoke barely above a whisper as he confronted a barrage of questions regarding his departure from the Vols, whom he led to the Faculty Soccer Playoff in December, to return to his house state and play for UCLA this fall.
The large query was requested in a number of totally different types: Did he depart Tennessee as a result of he needed greater than the $2.2 million he was set to obtain subsequent season?
“By no means,” he advised CBS Sports activities earlier Thursday, earlier than dealing with a throng of reporters. “My household was strictly the primary significance for me. I let my enterprise group, my mother and father, deal with that aspect of NIL. Simply me being nearer to household was crucial factor.”
Iamaleava mentioned he got here to Large Ten Media Days to clear the air about his sudden departure from Tennessee, the place he sat out a pair of spring practices in April as reviews surfaced about an obvious contract dispute in Knoxville. A number of retailers reported he requested for a brand new $4 million contract. One week earlier than Iamaleava’s absence in Knoxville, sources advised CBS Sports activities Iamaleava could also be interested by testing the portal waters with the West Coast as a potential vacation spot. No matter occurred throughout these two days in April, the consequence was all that mattered: UCLA landed Iamaleava out of the switch portal. Earlier this summer season, coach DeShaun Foster requested the quarterback to hitch him at media days to face the noise that had enveloped the game.
“It is time to allow you to inform your story,” Foster mentioned. “Lots of people wrote a e book for you and did not speak to him about it. I needed him to return out right here, and never for me (to inform his story), since you guys are gonna ask me these questions, and now I am talking for him. I needed him to have the ability to go on the market and actually inform his reality.”
Nico Iamaleava’s Tennessee saga wasn’t the professionalization of college sports—it was a train wreck
Richard Johnson
Iamaleava’s choice irked Tennessee followers and riled up Web sleuths, who labeled his choice as one pushed solely by cash. Many times on Thursday, Iamaleava denied money because the motivation behind his choice. Reviews that he was sad with the Vols’ roster, particularly the offensive line that was constructed to guard him, have been additionally not true, he mentioned. “I like my O-line,” Iamaleava mentioned. “I had an awesome O-line.” He advised CBS Sports activities his mom, Marleinna, has a tough time touring throughout the nation, and returning nearer to house to complete his school profession was a consideration. “I’ve all the time felt that manner throughout this stage of my profession,” he mentioned.
If there are regrets, Iamaleava mentioned it was how he dealt with his exit from Knoxville.
“I may have given a greater clarification to Tennessee followers, however I assumed on the time because it was all occurring we have been going by way of some private stuff and also you need to deal with private stuff privately,” Iamaleava advised CBS Sports activities. “Right now, I felt it was the fitting time to talk out. I want all of the Tennessee followers nothing however the perfect and I actually appreciated my time there.”
For Iamleava, the return to Los Angeles is a reunion with a dozen-plus gamers he as soon as known as teammates or rivals as a blue-chip preps participant at Warren Excessive in Downey, California. Senior linebacker JonJon Vaughns first met Iamaleava as an underclassman in highschool. “He may sling it, and I noticed how massive his dad was,” Vaughns smiled. “Oh, he is about to be, like, 6-6.”
Iamaleava, now certainly 6-6 and 215 kilos, handed for two,616 yards and 19 touchdowns in his first full season as Tennessee’s starter in 2024. He padded his stats towards inferior competitors and threw for over 200 yards solely twice towards SEC groups.
He is anticipated to raise a new-look UCLA offense, which ranked close to the underside of the Large Ten final season, piling up solely 328.8 yards and 18.4 factors per sport. Foster changed offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy with Indiana co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, who helped develop quarterback Kurtis Rourke and the Large Ten’s No. 1 scoring offense (41.3 factors per sport).
Foster loves Iamaleava’s arm power, one thing he famous when he initially recruited him out of highschool.
“The sky is the restrict,” Foster mentioned. “We’re enthusiastic about this.”
He repeated Thursday that the quarterback by no means appears rattled. “Look, flip round, have a look at him,” Foster advised reporters. “He is on stage, folks need to speak to him, however he is composed and I simply hope he brings it to the hill and continues to develop.”
“I’ve by no means been pushed like this by a workers earlier than,” Iamaleava mentioned. “I am excited to go to work for these guys.”
Foster has lengthy had connections to the Iamaleava household. He recruited Nico’s youthful brother, Madden, who dedicated to UCLA however flipped to Arkansas on signing day in December after the Bruins made a change at offensive coordinator. Nico and his father, Nicholaus, traveled to Fayetteville the day after Nico departed from Tennessee to look at his brother’s spring sport in Arkansas on April 19, however the sport was canceled because of heavy rain. Hours later, Madden knowledgeable Arkansas he was coming into the switch portal and joined his brother at UCLA. Arkansas is pursuing buyout money totaling as a lot as $500,000, which is printed in an NIL contract Madden signed with the Hogs in January, sources advised CBS Sports activities.
Madden is anticipated to be Nico’s backup this fall.
“I need to carry championships again to Westwood,” Nico mentioned. “That is our fundamental aim. Coach Fos and our entire workers has set expectations for us that we’ll meet. All people within the locker room really believes in each other. I like the bond we received going.”
Iamaleava switches from his most well-liked jersey No. 8 at Tennessee to No. 9 at UCLA. Troy Aikman’s jersey is retired at UCLA, however that did not cease Nico from attempting to influence the Corridor of Famer to permit him to put on the coveted No. 8 throughout a telephone dialog, he advised CBS Sports activities. “We had a great dialog,” he chuckled. He mentioned the brand new significance of No. 9 is to characterize his 9 quick members of the family: seven siblings and his mother and father.
UCLA returns six starters on offense however will primarily function a brand new receiver corps led by returning starter Kwazi Gilmer, Cal switch Mikey Matthews and Arkansas’ Jaedon Wilson. The Bruins rank 14th in FanDuel.com‘s odds to win the Large Ten championship this fall.
“Man, I am unable to anticipate the season,” Iamaleava mentioned.
Whether or not the noise round Iamleava subsides after his long-awaited look at Large Ten media days is up for debate, however Foster mentioned he would not thoughts the highlight on UCLA.
“We’re most likely gonna need to proceed with that kind of remedy, however we wish noise,” the second-year UCLA coach mentioned. “You need folks speaking about us, and in a pair months, you guys are going to be speaking about us profitable video games and never the quarterback.”